What a shitshow! On my 'timeline' at 'X' nothing but cheerleaders for more war with Russia. Some paid professionals, or retired warhorses, others passionate haters, and none of them with a fitting analysis of the current situation. Each and every one of them happily repeating the NATO-consensus narrative, which is by now laughable. It doesn't matter much, because Russia is cutting them a new asshole as we speak, not interested in confronting them on the propaganda-front, but sticking to 'due diligence' as they put the pieces together on who ordered and supported this terrorist attack in Moscow, and allowing the evidence to lead them, or so it seems to me.
'ISIS-K' has a focus on Russia, China and Iran, coincidently NATO's current enemies in the world. And no lack of evidence that people intimately associated with ISIS, or Al Qaeda derivatives, have been fighting in Ukraine from 2014. Another 'minor discrepancy' in the 'song and dance' fairytale of NATO defending 'values'. Meanwhile, NATO-countries in Europe are cracking down on organisations and politicians spreading 'Russian propaganda', because that is how the West operates as they seek regime change in Russia, Hungary and Serbia, to bring 'democracy'.
Remember Afghanistan? Libya? Iraq? Syria? Egypt? Ukraine? What it entails in a practical sense? And how the people in those countries suffered the consequences for tagging along? A shitshow! There is no other word for it. Formally NATO is still only 'providing weapons and support' in Ukraine, but unofficially they are running the show, and did so from 2014. The NYT had this story 'explaining' why the US didn't actually warn Russia of this upcoming terrorist attack on the 'Crocus' complex, out of fear that the Russians would learn about their 'intelligence gathering capability'. They merely provided a burp saying that something might happen. Which renders them responsible for what happened in my book. It is my take on the news coming from Russia that the investigative commission ordered to unveil who was behind it is willing to assume 'ISIS-K' is controlled from Washington, or Langley, or London.
If they reach that conclusion, it won't matter much what the accused will say to deny it. And there will be consequences beyond diplomatic fall-out, since diplomacy between Russia and the NATO-countries is dead. And incinerated. China could still serve as a go-between, but as I listened to Mark Rutte, still favourite to become the next talking head of NATO now that Kallas dropped out of the race, visiting Beijing, I heard him explain that he came with a list of demands. He doesn't get it. He never will. But if I were him, I'd bring a list of options to save NATO from becoming a footnote in the History Books, saving face by running this ship aground before it sinks. Like I wrote on my Dutch part of this blog this morning, the West is suffering from a severe condition as a collective resembling a bipolar disorder. I feel my arguments are very strong in favour of that diagnosis, and probably Google Translate will do a reasonable job translating it if you feel like reading it.
Meanwhile in Gaza…..
Americans increasingly ask their government what the Hell they are doing? Discontent with the 'Gaza-Policy', if you can call it that, is driving people to turn their back on Biden, as Netanyahu insists on bombing every square inch of Gaza until there is nothing left but ruble. Even in Israel itself people are becoming disenchanted with this political trickster, who previously came out in favour of keeping Hamas alive and well, as the best guarantee against a Palestinian State, while working to push every last Palestinian from land he wants to claim for Israel itself, from the river to the sea.
Houthis don't let up in attacking ships of Western companies and their patrol ships, while allowing Chinese and Russian vessels to pass. Not the only headache for shipping, as Baltimore harbour is still blocked after a ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key bridge, causing it to collapse over the full length. Equipment sent to lift the remains of the bridge from the water and clear the passage has arrived. Collapsing bridges is not an entirely new phenomenon in the US, yet in this case there were rumours about 'remote sabotage' of the vessel involved as a warning that things could get ugly fast if the US didn't reign in their Ukrainian proxies targeting Russian oil refineries. If true, we're a long way from Tipperary already, marching towards a real war between Russia and NATO, plus allies, including Israel, which took time off from levelling Gaza to bomb neighbouring Syria, as they've been doing for years, and years already, without anyone lifting a finger to stop them.
If I had a crystal ball to reveal the near future I'd use it and tell you all about it. But since I haven't such a piece of magic I'll have to rely on extrapolating from what I'm witnessing. And with the Russians switching off electricity in Ukraine, while already advancing, despite the unfavourable terrain conditions present, I'd say we're looking at an upcoming Russian offensive to reach the situation I predicted before the SMO, as the outcome if Zelensky and NATO insisted on beating the Russians back. Kharkiv and Odessa, possibly even Kiev, and everything East and South of the Djnepr going to Russia, leaving Ukraine with a landlocked, debt riddled, economically uninteresting strip of land, compared to the huge country it was. And they brought it upon themselves by listening to the NATO minstrels and sirens singing this 2014 lullaby of unlimited riches once the country became part of the EU and NATO. The entities which would support it for as long as it took.
Yes, I know I will be hit over the head by everything NAFO for spreading 'Kremlin Lies', but I cannot see another outcome given the circumstances. The US definitively doesn't want to see rising oil prices, or Biden can kiss his second term goodbye. I'm on record with an oddball prediction saying that Robert F. Kennedy is going to beat him in November anyway, but that is another matter. Higher oil prices would sink the struggling European economy even before it started to hurt the Russian economy, and we're seeing this reflected in the price of gold as the Dollar and the Euro are losing their attractiveness, with the Eurozone now openly stealing the parked Russian wealth, signalling to the world that you can't trust their banks. The threat of litigation by Russia against 'Euroclear' over the stolen money in countries where they are located outside the Eurozone, paralysing this key node in foreign trade, is making markets nervous.
Our bipolar society is no match for the Russians and the Chinese, but bipolar people, and therefore bipolar societies, are considered notoriously dangerous if you allow them to play with weapons. The Dutch military police marks bipolar hijackers and terrorists as the most dangerous, because they may appear to be willing to come to an arrangement, and the next moment they pull the pin from the grenade and start shooting. Don't ask such people to set up and run a military organisation, because they are the least qualified, as they are incapable of planning, and have no intention to stick to any agreed protocol presented to them. This is why I do understand that what appears to be the logical conclusion of this bodged plan to regime change Russia may still end in tears and more senseless destruction.